CAREER: Biosynthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids in marine bacteria

职业：海洋细菌中多不饱和脂肪酸的生物合成

• 批准号: 0953254
• 负责人: Abel Baerga-Ortiz
• 金额: $ 73万
• 依托单位: University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-01 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0953254&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Biosynthesis; polyunsaturated; fatty; acids

This research award in the Chemistry of Life Processes (CLP) program supports work by Professor Abel Baerga-Ortiz at the University of Puerto Rico to lead an investigation into how omega-3 fatty acids are made by marine micro-organisms using a polyketide synthase enzyme complex. The structure and mechanism of the different enzyme components will be studied separately using enzyme kinetics, site-directed mutagenesis and x-ray crystallography. The goal of the research is to delineate exactly (i) how these enzymes work and (ii) whether they can be altered to produce new compounds which resemble the parent fatty acid molecule in structure and physical properties. In addition, the PI will supervise a course aimed at Puerto Rican science undergraduates, graduates and faculty members, but open to science journalists and communicators, to raise awareness about the history and current status of natural products chemistry in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, with an emphasis on its potential to develop new technologies and new enterprise. This initiative will link well with on-going outreach efforts by the PI with the Puerto Rico Medicinal Plants Garden and with workforce re-training efforts with the Puerto Rico Chemists Association.Omega-3 fatty acids have tremendous potential as therapeutics, food additives, lubricants or biofuel components. Detailed knowledge about how omega-3 fatty acids are made in nature could be used to expand the chemical diversity of this class of useful compounds.

这项生命过程化学研究奖（CLP）计划支持波多黎各大学的Abel Baerga-tortiz教授的工作，以领导对欧米茄3脂肪酸如何使用多酮化合物合成酶酶综合体对omega-3脂肪酸进行调查。将使用酶动力学，定向诱变和X射线晶体学分别研究不同酶成分的结构和机制。该研究的目的是精确地描述（i）这些酶的工作原理以及（ii）是否可以改变它们以产生与父脂肪酸分子结构和物理性质相似的新化合物。此外，PI将监督针对波多黎各科学本科生，毕业生和教职员工的课程，但对科学记者和沟通者开放，以提高对波多黎各和加勒比海天然产品化学的历史和现状的认识，并强调其发展新技术和新的肠道技术。该计划将与PI与波多黎各药用植物花园的持续推广工作有很好的联系，并与波多黎各化学家协会的劳动力重新培训工作。欧洲3脂肪酸具有巨大的潜力，因为治疗方法，食品添加剂，润滑剂，润滑剂或生物燃料组件。关于在自然界中如何制作omega-3脂肪酸的详细知识可用于扩大此类有用化合物的化学多样性。